The second annual "Fillies Race for Hope," a day of horse racing and fundraising to benefit Hope Chest for Breast Cancer Foundation and Pay It Forward Fund, will be held Aug. 4 at Canterbury Park.
The first of ten races, each exclusively for fillies and mares, begins at 1:30 p.m. CDT. Presented by MHC Companies, the program includes four stakes races with the feature being the $100,000 Lady Canterbury Stakes.
“Canterbury Park’s employees and horse organizations are again pleased to host Fillies Race for Hope,” Canterbury Park President Randy Sampson said. “The inaugural event was very successful. We expect that Saturday will be even bigger. Canterbury Park has always given to the community but a day like this allows our fans, sponsors, and horse organizations, who have been extremely generous, to get involved for a very deserving cause. We are happy to be working with two great partners in Hope Chest for Breast Cancer Foundation and Pay it Forward Fund.”
The day’s events will include a survivors’ parade on the racetrack, immediately following the day’s third race, where several hundred breast cancer survivors and their families will be honored. A hat contest will be held for all racetrack attendees and bartenders will be pouring the "Lady Slipper Smash," the event’s signature cocktail. Numerous sponsors have been lined up to help support the cause and many local companies have contributed more than 100 items for a silent auction that will be held throughout the day.
Four stakes races worth a combined $225,000 will be contested, featuring the $100,000 Lady Canterbury Stakes. Hooh Why, a two-time graded stakes winner, is the most decorated contender in a field of seven. The winner of the grade I Ashland Stakes at Keeneland in 2009 and the Grade III Seaway Stakes at Woodbine in 2010, Hooh Why has earned more than $1 million during her career for trainer Michael Revis and owners Hoffman & Trostrud. Bobby Walker, Jr. will be in the saddle.
The local hopeful is Rare Sunset, the winner of the Minnesota H.B.P.A. Mile on July 3. Trained by Miguel Silva, Rare Sunset set the pace in last year’s Lady Canterbury before fading to finish fourth. Geovanni Franco has the call aboard Rare Sunset. This edition will mark the 20th running of the Lady Canterbury Stakes.
Three other stakes races will be run as a part of the 2012 Fillies Race for Hope. The $50,000 Hoist Her Flag Stakes is for fillies and mares going six furlongs. Minnesota-bred fillies and mares will face off in the $50,000 Princess Elaine Stakes at one mile and one sixteenth on the turf course. Lastly, filly and mare American Quarter Horses will run in the $25,000 Fillies and Mares Race for Hope Bonus Challenge, a bonus challenge race in the AQHA’s Bank of America Racing Challenge. That race will be run at a distance of 400 yards.
General admission is $5. Children under 18 are admitted free. Parking is also free.
“We encourage everyone to dress in pink to show their support on this special day of racing and hope,” Sampson said.
Two-time graded stakes winner Hooh Why runs in the Lady Canterbury Stakes.
Coglianese Photos